Project Medishare

Abstract

Most U.S. medical schools have programs in international health, but there is a need to find ways to make students (particularly those with little clinical experience) more effective volunteers in international settings. The Department of Family Medicine at the University of Miami School of Medicine developed a program to help prepare students for international work and to ensure that the work they do makes a difference. Over the past four years, this program, Project Medishare, has sent groups of students to Haiti to conduct health fairs. Students prepare all year for their voluntary trips, which take place during the spring and summer breaks; they learn about Haiti's history, culture, language, and health problems. They also raise funds and donations of medicine and supplies. The health fairs, which are one-day events in orphanages and villages, emphasize patient education and preventive medicine. The success of the fairs is evaluated using testimonials from Haitian officials and patients, students' journals, and data collected by the students. Factors critical to Project Medishare's success include (1) having a "critical mass" of culturally and linguistically competent students and faculty; (2) collaboration with local authorities and providers; (3) advance preparation; and (4) using lessons learned from each event to improve the next.

Medical students’ perception of international health electives in the undergraduate medical curriculum at the College of Medicine, King Saud University

“…IHEs stated to offer learning assistances in knowledge (eg, cross-cultural matters, as well as health care delivery), enriched skills (eg, problem-solving, clinical examination, as well as language), and nurturing certain attitudes and values (eg, community service and humanism), and all such academic benefits appeared to be mutually beneficial for the sending institutions and host hospitals. 5 – 9 Moreover, majority of elective participants in an IHE gained knowledge especially if there were ample measures from the sending institutes concerning the preparation and organization for electives. 10 IHEs also appear to be associated with ethical learning, choosing careers, as well as with a positive influence on clinical diagnostic skills.…”

Role of Clinical Electives on Academic Career: A Cross Sectional Study

“…case solving, clinical examination and also overcoming language barriers), and the maintenance of certain attitudes and values (e.g. community work and empathy towards patients), and from all these perks, institutions and health care centers also receive benefits [5][6][7][8][9]. In addition, IHEs are also linked to learning ethics, career selection and positive impact on clinical diagnostic skill set [10,11].…”

International health experiences in postgraduate medical education: A meta-analysis of their effect on graduates’ clinical practice among underserved populations

“…Many authors have suggested that domestic health care systems benefit from physicians who have received part of their training internationally in a low- or middle-income country (LMIC). 4 - 8 For example, Greysen et al found that out of 521 physicians surveyed with formal training in clinical and health services research and policy leadership, 44% had some global health experience during or after their training, and 85% of respondents perceived that their global health activities had improved the quality of their work back home. 3 These physicians reported that IHEs inspired increased work among vulnerable populations, advocacy, and research on the social determinants of health.…”